Ryson watched as Callum sent a line of fire against the trolls.
That only enraged them. Callum drew his sword and hacked at the relentless limbs, foregoing magic. One caught hold of his cousin's arm and tried to jerk it out of its socket. Callum went down, the wood troll dragging him toward a knot of ten or more companions. Ryson yelled and leaped into the mass, hacking at any piece of wood within range. Rimal soon joined him, and even Kono. He wanted her to escape -- but she couldn't. The wood trolls were everywhere --
Some were flying, though it was plainly not their plan. Ryson glimpsed the gryphon tearing at them from above. Good. Get Callum free! The wood trolls had almost lost interest in him and seemed to work at untangling their branches as they cried in panic.
Ryson tripped over Callum and landed on his cousin, who gave a woof of surprise.
"Not helping, Ryson," Callum mumbled, and then caught Ryson's arm. "Thank you."
The trolls tried to escape, but the gryphon didn't let up in his attack, and another followed him in, sweeping down --
Not a gryphon.
"Dragon," Ryson said. He felt no surprise. "A gryphon took a dragon egg."
The creature swept forward, scattering the wood trolls, while the gryphon charged at the trolls that were still attacking the humans. Tsak and his son directed their people and held back a large section of the trolls. Ryson had trouble focusing on the trouble because he kept watching the dragon. It glittered like jade and silver as the light caught a claw here and a triangle-shaped scale next. It was no larger than a villager's cottage, but Ryson thought that was a sign of being young.
"At least they are on our side," Kono offered, although she didn't sound entirely certain. The wood trolls retreated down the hillside and disappeared into the woods. That was not reassuring, since they would look like any other tree.
Everyone had suffered injuries, and no one looked inclined to move. Ryson bandaged some of the worst wounds, and Kono helped by passing around some bread and cheese. People nibbled, but mostly they watched where the gryphon and dragon sat.
Callum forced himself to his feet and took slow, limping steps toward the two. Ryson hurried over and helped him stay on his feet. This was not the time to fall.
"I was young," the gryphon said before anyone else spoke. "No one listened to me and my grand ideas. They had sensed that an egg would soon hatch, the first in hundreds of years. I took the egg and disappeared into the forest. I realized my stupidity and was about to take her back when the egg hatched. After that, it was hard enough to keep her alive and out of danger."
"You are going back now," Ryson said, still holding Callum to his feet. "Why?"
"My friend can hear the others waking. They have specifically called her. I am here to make certain she gets back to her own family."
"She doesn't speak, but you understand her," Kono added. Ryson stopped her from taking another step forward. She looked annoyed, but he met her glare without flinching. Kono didn't try to move forward again.
"We worked out how to communicate. The Sprites helped. River and I sent them on to you for both your protection and ours. The signs showed that if you were not warned of trouble, you would not have escaped in time. Your castle is under siege by the berserkers. If you hadn't realized the treachery of your council, you would have been there instead of here."
"Shouldn't I be there with the people I have sworn to protect?"
The dragon dropped down on its belly with a sigh of frustration. Ryson felt an odd tingle in the air and thought the dragon and gryphon must be communicating.
The gryphon finally sat down and gave a nod to his odd companion.
"This is the pattern of what happened," the gryphon said. The battle had moved away, and Ryson was ready to hear how this worked. Callum and Kono appeared to agree, although the Queen looked anxious to get back to the trouble.
"The sprites came to you in good faith about the alliance. You know that much because you would have sensed something false. They were already aware of the trouble with your council and their followers --"
"How?" she demanded.
"You live in the snowlands. Ice Sprites have no trouble spying in such a climate."
"Oh. Of course."
Ryson wondered how long it would be before the spies worked for her, although maybe they already did.
"The sprites live in the mountains behind the craggy peaks where the dragons form their core. They noted the intrusion of humans and at first thought they came from your lands, as had happened in the far past. Then they realized they were the guards and had broken their oath."
"Berserkers," Ryson said, his voice cold with anger.
"Yes. They plan to destroy the dragons so that they cannot trap them back in their ancient oath. Lord Bear has sworn they will never be slaves again. It is not just the dragons that are a threat to him. Callum has magic powers, and Ryson escaped from his hold when they were trying to bind him to the old oath. Queen Kono has her special role to play. She can sense the sincerity of any pledge made with her and stop bad oaths before they take hold. It is time you become the Queen again. We need that power."
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